BREAKING NEWS: President Eyring will dedicate the Paris France Temple

Hey, everyone! I learned something neat about the Paris France Temple dedication that I had to share. I don't know why I wasn't aware of this, but President Eyring's wife lived in France for a time during their dating and courtship, and they actually lived in France for several years following their marriage. While Sister Eyring's health is not good enough for her to attend this temple dedication, President Eyring has been sent to preside there. I had expected President Uchtdorf, as our European apostle, to be asked, but knowing now about President Eyring's connection to France and its people, I couldn't be more pleased to be wrong on that. He is being accompanied, as I expected, by Elder Neil L. Andersen and his wife, who have multiple connections to France, and by our French-born Presiding Bishop Gerald Causse and his wife. I wouldn't be surprised to hear of representatives from the Europe Area Presidency and the Temple Department being in attendance as well. For more on the preparation for this dedication, click here. Enjoy!

Church News Article about Elder Brian K. Taylor

Hello. Last post today. The Church News published today this article about new General Authority Seventy Elder Brian K. Taylor. Enjoy!

Redone list of temple presidents called in 2017

Hello. The Church announced the call of another temple president (for the San Salvador El Salvador Temple). As I have considered the layout of my document tracking new temple presidents, I have felt to make some changes. Here are the results of my efforts. Let me know your thoughts.

New Temples whose presidents will begin serving later this year:

1.      Paris France (President announced in 2016; will begin formal service on May 21)

2.      Cedar City Utah (President  announced in March; will begin service on December 10)

3.      Tucson Arizona (President announced in March; will begin formal service on August 13)

4.      Meridian Idaho (President announced in April; will begin formal service in November 19)

Operating Temples whose president was changed earlier this year:

1.      Calgary Alberta (president changed sometime during March for an undisclosed reason, likely because the previous president died or became incapacitated)

General Note #1: The president of the Tokyo Japan Temple died during his active service in late April of this year. The Church has no doubt called one of his counselors as the new president so that the work of the temple can go on uninterrupted. Once I learn of that information, I will add that temple to one of the lists above.

General Note #2: Other operating temples, as has already been announced, will be getting a new president later this year as well, and if those changes take place as they did during my six-year service in the Mount Timpanogos Utah Temple, the new presidents will start their service on the first Monday or Tuesday of November, which fall this year on the 6^th and 7^th. Those temples that will have a new president this year include the following:

1.      Apia Samoa

2.      Logan Utah

3.      Vernal Utah

4.      Toronto Ontario

5.      Snowflake Arizona

6.      Phoenix Arizona

7.      Salt Lake

8.      Bern Switzerland

9.      Quetzaltenango Guatemala

10.  Louisville Kentucky

11.  San Diego California

12.  Mount Timpanogos Utah

13.  Madrid Spain

14.  Bogota Colombia

15.  Edmonton Alberta

16.  Newport Beach California

17.  Adelaide Australia

18.  Kona Hawaii

19.  Caracas Venezuela

20.  Bismarck North Dakota

21.  Mesa Arizona

22.  Columbia South Carolina

23.  Ogden Utah

24.  Lubbock Texas

25.  Guayaquil Ecuador

26.  Fort Lauderdale Florida

27.  Los Angeles California

28.  San Salvador El Salvador

General Note #3: While not yet reported in the Church News, a news release appearing on LDS.org dated May 11 announced the calling of a new president for the following additional temples. When subsequently confirmed by the Church News, they will move to the list above.

1.      Manila Philippines

2.      San Antonio Texas (The news release on LDS.org states that a new president has not been called yet but will be later this year.)

General Note #4: Temple presidents generally serve for around three years. With that in mind, I feel confident in predicting that the following temples may also have a new president announced:

1.      Baton Rouge Louisiana

2.      Buenos Aires Argentina

NOTE: The current president has been serving since this temple’s rededication in 2012. As that is well beyond the standard 3 years of service, it seems reasonable to assume that there will be such a change this year.

General Note #5: The presidents of the following temples would be marking their third year of service had they not closed previously for renovations. A new president may or may not be called this year for those temples.

1.      Freiberg Germany (Closed for renovation in 2014 and rededicated last year)

2.      Idaho Falls Idaho (Closed for renovation in 2015 and will be rededicated in less than a month)

General Note #6: The presidents of the following temples would be marking three years of service later this year if those temples were not closing for renovations within the next ten months. Therefore, there may or may not be a change.

1.      Asuncion Paraguay

NOTE: The current president has served since 2014, which means that this year would mark time for a charge. But this temple will close for renovation in October, one month before usual changes are made. As a subsequent rededication of this temple is anticipated sometime in 2019, it is more than likely that the Church will hold off on naming a new president until that time.

2.      Washington DC

NOTE: Though this temple president will have marked three years of service later this year, the temple will close for renovation next March. With that in mind, I could see the Church calling a new president this year for a few months prior to that renovation, or holding off on calling anyone until after the renovation is completed sometime during 2020.

General Note #7: The following two temples closed for renovations in the middle of their current president’s active service. Were it not for that, we would likely be seeing changes there as well.

1.      Jordan River (president has served since 2014; temple closed in 2015 and will be rededicated sometime next year, so a new president may not be called until sometime during 2020)

2.      Frankfurt Germany (president has served since 2013; temple closed in 2015 and will be rededicated sometime next year, so the president could be changed sometime within the next two years)

General Note #8: Temples that will most likely be dedicated during the early or middle part of next year and might therefore have their first presidents announced at some point during the fall of this year (since the first president of the Paris France Temple had its’ first: president called during the summer of 2016):

1.      Rome Italy

2.      Kinshasa DR Congo

3.      Barranquilla Colombia

Blog Problems Reported and Resolved

Hello, all! I have heard from many of you that were not able to comment on my blog posts during the time I used Disqus to deal with a troll's thoughtless and offensive comments. I wanted to officially report that Disqus outlived its usefulness for me, and since it prevented comments from being posted for the last two months or so, unless people were registered with Disqus, and since the troll is no longer an issue, comments are once again able to be made by anyone with a Google account. Sorry about the trouble. I hope comments will begin in earnest again. I have missed the feedback on my work. More posts coming in the next few days as time and circumstances allow. Thanks for your interest and support, and sorry for the inconvenience. Let the comments resume!

Minor Temple Construction Update

Hello. Here, as promised, is a minor update on temple construction. It appears that construction of the Tucson Arizona Temple is almost, if not entirely, completed. Reservations are now being accepted for that open house, which will run during the weeks between the Saturdays of June 3 and 24, excluding, of course, the relevant Sundays. That temple, as we know, will be dedicated in August, following the annual July recess of the General Authorities.

In the meantime, interior finish work is underway for the Meridian Idaho Temple, and the testing of exterior lighting has begun on the grounds of the Cedar City Utah Temple. Public tours of the Idaho Falls Idaho Temple will continue until this Saturday, and the dedication of that temple will follow two weeks from this upcoming Sunday. I have also adjusted my estimates for the time-frame of temple-related events for this year and next year, and will be posting those details later this week, if and when I can. An official closure date has been identified for the Oklahoma City Oklahoma Temple (October 14), and it could be that the Tokyo Japan Temple will close before then. More to come on that when more is known.

I have also been reminded that, while as many as four temple groundbreakings might be possible for announced temples during this year, nothing is definite until an official announcement comes down from Church leadership. I hope I have made that clear enough in my previous updates. I am free to offer my own thoughts and hopes for such time-frames, but I need to be absolutely clear that such dates are my own thoughts and feelings, nothing more. More to come on that when more is known.

This is just a very general temple construction update. I am trying to do more research on these developments and will post more just as soon as I know more. In the meantime, thanks for your interest and support.